ISPs breaching the new law, which comes into force next month,
run the risk of fines of $5,000 for a first offence, $20,000 for a
second, and $30,000 for a third offence. On a third offence,
officers of a guilty ISP could go to prison for up to seven
years.
After an offending URL is identified by those at the Attorney
General’s office it must obtain an order from the court and then
has three working days in which to notify the ISP.
Critics point out that those posting child pornography to the
internet tend to change the URL on a regular basis, sometimes
hourly. By the time an ISP receives notification of offending
material at a certain URL, the site will likely have changed
location. It appears that the only party likely to suffer under the
law is the ISP.
